Markel Group Inc. Purchases 17,000 Shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation $NSC

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,500 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $78,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 736 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,060 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $313.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Evercore set a $325.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.83.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:NSC opened at $313.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.30. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a twelve month low of $236.37 and a twelve month high of $323.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $300.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.19.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Norfolk Southern’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.49%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation is a major U.S. freight railroad company that provides rail transportation and related logistics services. As a Class I carrier, the company operates an extensive network across the eastern United States and offers scheduled freight service for a broad range of industries. Its core operations include long-haul and regional rail freight transportation, intermodal services that move containers and trailers between rail and other modes, and terminal and switching services that support efficient rail shipments for industrial and port customers.

The company transports a variety of commodities, serving sectors such as coal and energy, automotive and automotive parts, chemicals, agriculture, metals and construction materials, and consumer goods.